U.S. patent number 10,218,308 [Application Number 15/793,122] was granted by the patent office on 2019-02-26 for photovoltaic junction box providing quick heat dissipation.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda) No. 7 Limited, Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.. The grantee listed for this patent is Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda) No. 7 Limited, Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.. Invention is credited to Shih Ying Ko, Zhenhua Zhang, Yuan Zhong.
United States Patent |
10,218,308 |
Ko , et al. |
February 26, 2019 |
Photovoltaic junction box providing quick heat dissipation
Abstract
A photovoltaic junction box comprises a box body formed of a
single integrally-molded part having a housing portion defining a
receiving chamber and a packaging portion having a first packaging
portion located inside the receiving chamber and a second packaging
portion located outside the receiving chamber, a plurality of
conductive terminals positioned along the box body and at least one
diode chip disposed in a portion of the box body outside of the
receiving chamber.
Inventors: |
Ko; Shih Ying (Shanghai,
CN), Zhong; Yuan (Shanghai, CN), Zhang;
Zhenhua (Shanghai, CN) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda) No. 7 Limited |
Shanghai
Hamilton |
N/A
N/A |
CN
BM |
|
|
Assignee: |
Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda)
No. 7 Limited (Hamilton, BM)
Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (Shanghai,
CN)
|
Family
ID: |
60172494 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/793,122 |
Filed: |
October 25, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180115278 A1 |
Apr 26, 2018 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 25, 2016 [CN] |
|
|
2016 2 1148186 U |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
24/60 (20130101); H02G 3/081 (20130101); H01R
13/6641 (20130101); H02S 40/34 (20141201); H02S
40/345 (20141201); H02G 3/14 (20130101); H02G
3/16 (20130101); Y02E 10/50 (20130101); H01R
2107/00 (20130101); H01L 2224/40 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H02B
1/00 (20060101); H02B 1/56 (20060101); H05K
7/20 (20060101); H02S 40/34 (20140101); H01R
13/66 (20060101); H01R 24/60 (20110101); H02G
3/08 (20060101); H02G 3/14 (20060101); H02G
3/16 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;361/676
;439/485,620.21 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hyeon; Hae Moon
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Barley Snyder
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A photovoltaic junction box, comprising: a box body is a single
integrally-molded part having a housing portion defining a
receiving chamber and a packaging portion having a first packaging
portion located inside the receiving chamber and a second packaging
portion located outside the receiving chamber; a plurality of
conductive terminals positioned along the box body; and at least
one diode chip disposed in a portion of the box body outside of the
receiving chamber.
2. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 1, wherein the at least
one diode chip is disposed in the second packaging portion.
3. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 2, wherein the at least
one diode chip has a first electrode electrically connected to a
first conductive terminal via a wire and a second electrode
directly electrically connected to a second conductive terminal
adjacent to the first conductive terminal.
4. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 3, wherein the second
electrode is adapted to be soldered directly to a surface of the
second conductive terminal.
5. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 1, wherein each
conductive terminal of the plurality of conductive terminals has a
first portion disposed in the packaging portion of the box body and
a second portion exposed in the receiving chamber.
6. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 5, wherein a first
conductive terminal disposed at a first end of the photovoltaic
junction box adjacent to a first wire has a first electrical
connection portion disposed on the second portion of the first
conductive terminal and adapted to be electrically connected to the
first wire.
7. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 6, wherein a second
conductive terminal disposed at a second end of the photovoltaic
junction box opposite the first end adjacent to a second wire has a
second electrical connection portion disposed on the second portion
of the second conductive terminal and adapted to be electrically
connected to the second wire.
8. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 7, wherein each
conductive terminal has a third electrical connection portion
disposed on the second portion of the conductive terminal and
adapted to be electrically connected.
9. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 1, wherein the box body
includes a housing defining the receiving chamber and a package
assembled with the housing.
10. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 9, wherein the at least
one diode chip is disposed in the package.
11. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 10, wherein the package
has a first portion disposed in the receiving chamber and a second
portion located outside the receiving chamber, the at least one
diode chip disposed in the second portion of the package.
12. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 11, wherein the at least
one diode chip has a first electrode electrically connected to a
first conductive terminal via a wire and a second electrode
directly electrically connected to a second conductive terminal
adjacent to the first conductive terminal.
13. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 12, wherein the second
electrode is adapted to be soldered directly to a surface of the
second conductive terminal.
14. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 10, wherein each
conductive terminal of the plurality of conductive terminals has a
first portion disposed in the package and a second portion exposed
in the receiving chamber.
15. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 14, wherein a first
conductive terminal disposed at a first end of the photovoltaic
junction box has a first electrical connection portion disposed on
the second portion of the first conductive terminal and adapted to
be electrically connected to a first wire.
16. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 15, wherein a second
conductive terminal disposed at a second end of the photovoltaic
junction box opposite the first end has a second electrical
connection portion disposed on the second portion of the second
conductive terminal and adapted to be electrically connected to a
second wire.
17. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 16, wherein each
conductive terminal has a third electrical connection portion
disposed on the second portion of the conductive terminal and
adapted to be electrically connected.
18. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 1, further comprising a
cover adapted to be mounted on an opening of the receiving
chamber.
19. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 18, wherein one of the
box body and the cover has a resilient snap and the other of the
box body and the cover has a recess, the resilient snap engaging
the recess to lock the cover on the box body.
20. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 1, wherein the box body
is molded from an injection molding material.
21. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 20, wherein each of the
plurality of conductive terminals has a first portion disposed in
the box body and a second portion not disposed in the box body.
22. The photovoltaic junction box of claim 21, wherein the first
portion of each of the conductive terminals has a plurality of
passageways extending through the first portion, a portion of the
box body extends through the passageways to secure the conductive
terminals to the box body.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a)-(d) of Chinese Patent Application No.
201621148186.6, filed on Oct. 25, 2016.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a photovoltaic junction box and,
more particularly, to a photovoltaic junction box having a box body
and a plurality of conductive terminals.
BACKGROUND
A photovoltaic junction box comprises a box body, a plurality of
conductive terminals, a plurality of diodes, and a cover. Each
diode has a diode chip and a diode package packaged on the diode
chip. The diode package is commonly formed directly on the diode
chip by an insert-molding process and the box body of the
photovoltaic junction box is separately injection-molded.
Electrodes of the diode chip are wired or directly welded to the
corresponding conductive terminals. Each conductive terminal is
mounted and secured in a snap-fit manner in a receiving chamber of
the box body of the photovoltaic junction box. The cover is mounted
on an opening of the receiving chamber of the box body and is
adapted to open and close the opening of the receiving chamber.
The conventional photovoltaic junction box has a relatively
complicated structure and a relatively complicated manufacturing
process, resulting in low processing efficiency and high cost. In
addition, in the conventional photovoltaic junction box, the diode
chip is located in the receiving chamber of the box body so that
the heat generated when the diode chip is operated cannot be
quickly dissipated into the air outside the box body, resulting in
poor heat dissipation and poor performance.
SUMMARY
A photovoltaic junction box comprises a box body, a plurality of
conductive terminals, and at least one diode chip. The at least one
diode chip is disposed in the box body.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of conductive terminals
and a plurality of diode chips of a photovoltaic junction box
according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the photovoltaic junction box of
the first embodiment in which a receiving chamber of the
photovoltaic junction box is in an open state;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the photovoltaic junction box of
FIG. 2 in which the receiving chamber is closed by a cover;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plurality of conductive terminals
and a plurality of diode chips of a photovoltaic junction box
according to a second embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a package of the photovoltaic
junction box of the second embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the photovoltaic junction box of
the second embodiment in which a receiving chamber of the
photovoltaic junction box is in an open state; and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the photovoltaic junction box of
FIG. 6 in which the receiving chamber is closed by a cover.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter
in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like
reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present
invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set
forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the
disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the
concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.
A photovoltaic junction box according to an embodiment is shown in
FIGS. 1-3. The photovoltaic junction box comprises a box body 10,
20, a plurality of conductive terminals 100, and at least one diode
chip 200. In the shown embodiment, the photovoltaic junction box
comprises four conductive terminals 100 and three diode chips 200;
the four conductive terminals 100 are arranged in a row.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the diode chips 200 are all directly
packaged in the box body 10, 20. In the shown embodiment, there is
no need to provide additional packaging for the diode chips 200,
thereby simplifying the structure and manufacturing process of the
photovoltaic junction box and reducing the manufacturing cost of
the photovoltaic junction box.
The box body 10, 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is formed with a
receiving chamber 11 therein. The diode chips 200 are packaged in
the portion 22 of the box body 10, 20 located outside the receiving
chamber 11. In the shown embodiment, the box body 10, 20 is a
single integrally-molded part. The box body 10, 20 may be molded
directly on the diode chips 200 and the conductive terminals 100 by
an insert-molding process. In this way, the structure and
manufacturing process of the photovoltaic junction box may be
greatly simplified, and the manufacturing cost of the photovoltaic
junction box may be reduced significantly.
The box body 10, 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a housing
portion 10 and a packaging portion 20. The receiving chamber 11 is
defined in the housing portion 10. The packaging portion 20
includes a first packaging portion 21 located inside the receiving
chamber 11 and a second packaging portion 22 located outside the
receiving chamber 11. In the shown embodiment, the three diode
chips 200 are directly packaged in the second packaging portion 22.
Since the second packaging portion 22 is located outside the
receiving chamber 11, the heat generated during the operation of
the diode chips 200 may be directly dissipated to the outside air
via the second packaging portion 22 located outside the receiving
chamber 11, thereby improving the heat dissipation performance of
the photovoltaic junction box.
As shown in FIG. 1, each diode chip 200 electrically connects
adjacent conductive terminals 100. A first electrode of the diode
chip 200 is electrically connected to a first conductive terminal
100 via a wire 210 and a second electrode of the diode chip 200 is
electrically connected directly to a second conductive terminal 100
adjacent to the first conductive terminal 100. The second electrode
of the diode chip 200 is directly attached to a surface of the
second conductive terminal 100 in a surface mounted manner.
Each conductive terminal 100, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a
first portion directly packaged in the packaging portion 20 of the
box body 10, 20 and a second portion exposed in the receiving
chamber 11. A first electrical connection portion 100a adapted to
be electrically connected to a first wire 1 is formed on the second
portion of one conductive terminal 100 located at one end of the
photovoltaic junction box. A second electrical connection portion
100b adapted to be electrically connected to a second wire 2 is
formed on the second portion of another conductive terminal 100
located at the other end of the photovoltaic junction box. A third
electrical connection portion 110 adapted to be electrically
connected to a bus bar (not shown) from a solar panel is formed on
the second portion of each of the conductive terminals 100. Since
the first electrical connection portion 100a, the second electrical
connection portion 100b, and the third electrical connection
portion 110 are exposed in the receiving chamber 11, it is possible
to solder the first wire 1, the second wire 2 and the bus bars onto
the first electrical connection portion 100a, the second electrical
connection portion 100b, and the third electrical connection
portions 110, respectively.
Each conductive terminal 100 has a plurality of passageways 101
formed in the first portion, as shown in FIG. 1. In this way, after
the first portion of the conductive terminal 100 is directly
packaged in the box body 10, 20, the injection-molding material for
forming the box body 10, 20 passes through the passageways 101
formed in the conductive terminal 100 such that the conductive
terminals 100 are reliably secured to the box body 10, 20.
The receiving chamber 11, as shown in FIG. 3, may be closed by a
cover 30 of the photovoltaic junction box. A resilient snap 32 is
formed on one of the box body 10, 20 and the cover 30, and a recess
12 is formed on the other of the box body 10, 20 and the cover 30.
The resilient snap 32 is adapted to be snapped into the
corresponding recess 12 so as to lock the cover 30 on the box body
10, 20.
A photovoltaic junction box according to another embodiment is
shown in FIGS. 4-7. The photovoltaic junction box comprises a box
body 10', 20', a plurality of conductive terminals 100, and at
least one diode chip 200. In the shown embodiment, the photovoltaic
junction box comprises four conductive terminals 100 and three
diode chips 200; the four conductive terminals 100 are arranged in
a row. Like reference numbers indicate like elements and only the
differences from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3 will be
described in detail herein.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the box body 10', 20' is
an assembly part formed by two separated components. The box body
10', 20' mainly comprises a housing 10' and a package 20'. The
receiving chamber 11' is defined in the housing 10'. The package
20' is assembled on the housing 10', for example, the package 20'
may be bonded to the housing 10' by glue. An assembling opening is
formed in a sidewall of the housing 10' and a first portion 21' of
the package 20' is inserted into the receiving chamber 11' of the
housing 10' through the assembling opening. A second portion 22' of
the package 20' located outside the receiving chamber 11' may be
bonded to the outer sidewall of the housing 10' by the glue. Each
conductive terminal 100, as shown in FIGS. 4-6, comprises a first
portion directly packaged in the package 20' of the box body 10',
20' and a second portion exposed in the receiving chamber 11'.
The box body 10', 20', as shown in FIGS. 4-6, may be separately
molded from an injection-molding material in the insert-molding
manner. A plurality of passageways 101 are formed in the first
portion of each of the conductive terminals 100. In this way, after
the first portion of the conductive terminal 100 is directly
packaged in the package 20', the injection-molding material for
forming the package 20' passes through the passageways 101 formed
in the conductive terminal 100 such that the conductive terminals
100 are reliably coupled to the package 20'.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the illustrated embodiment, the photovoltaic
junction box further comprises a cover 30 adapted to be mounted on
the opening of the receiving chamber 11' of the box body 10', 20'
so as to open or close the opening of the receiving chamber
11'.
* * * * *